In the Night Sky
by xwerewolfgirlx
Summary: <html><head></head>Alex is starting over in San Francisco with the Pleasure family, a new home, a new school and a new life. But can he go from international super spy to normal school boy? Is his wish for normality what he well and truly wants? Spoilers for Scorpia Rising</html>
1. Chapter 1

**In the Night Sky  
><strong>

**Chapter 1**

Summary: Alex is starting his time in San Francisco with the Pleasure family, a new house, a new school and a new life. But can he go from international super spy to normal school boy?  
>He once got thrown into a world he didn't belong and now he's gotten pulled back into a world he's outgrown. Is his wish for normality what he really and truly wants?<br>Alex Rider is on his toughest mission yet where his cover is an ordinary boy and his objective is to be ultimately normal, will he succeed or will this be his biggest failure of all?  
>But the biggest question of all, is: Can he well and truly forget not only the past but also the past him; the spy that he's been and might very well still be?<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. Simple as that.

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"_It's seven am and the sun has risen at Presidio Heights! This lovely-"_

A hand shot out of the covers and smashed into the stop button on the radio alarm, a groan emerged as the blob under the covers shifted and another hand wiggled out, it seemed almost reluctant to come out to present itself to the world, or in this case, the organised untidy room of teenage spy Alex Rider. Opps, that's _ex_ -teenage spy Alex Rider now.

A blond hairy head followed the hand and eyes that seemed broken even in the haze of sleep blinked at the offending California sun that was leaking through his blinds. Alex had arrived in San Francisco a week ago and after receiving a bone crushing hug from Sabina, he had tried to settle in at his new home. Key word: Tried.

He hasn't improved much from the state he had been in, and still is in, when Edward Pleasure had gone to retrieve him from London. He barely ever opens his mouth, the only time he does is when someone asks a direct question and he avoids sentence answers, he hardly ever opens his mouth to eat either and the Pleasure family can often find him staring off into his own little world. He hardly ever gets any proper rest and bags have formed under his eyes, to normal civilians, he would appear like a party freak that spends his nights out getting smashed with alcohol instead of studying like a good boy. However the real reason for his tiredness is because of the nightmares that haunt him every night, often he can be found at one or two in the morning bending over the toilet and throwing up his dinner.

The Pleasures don't know whether they should seek professional help for their new family member or to just sit tight and hope for Alex to recover on his own. However they tossed out the professional help option when Alex had firmly but politely refused to see a psychiatrist. That had been the first time he had shown any real emotion and even then it had only been a flicker of annoyance before retreating back behind his blank mask.

Liz had suggested that Alex go to school today in the hopes of bringing back some emotion in him, or well, on his face. She had hoped that contact with more teenagers would help him seem a little less… broken. Edward had questioned her when she bought this up, wondering if that it may be a little too soon since Alex had only arrived a week ago. Liz had replied that he wasn't doing anything at home and that maybe school would be good for him.

So here he was, standing in front of his new mirror and looking at his bare chest, he skimmed over his scars with his eyes and grabbed a shirt just as he heard footsteps walking down the hall towards the – no –towards _his_ room. A second later, the doorknob turned and Edward popped his head in.

"Oh you are awake, good! Liz has made pancakes downstairs and Sabina said that you should get down there soon if you didn't want to miss the bus."

Just as his head disappeared it popped right back with a confused looked.

"Alex, is it just me or does your shirt look inside out?"

The ex-spy swirled his head towards the mirror so fast that Edward hadn't even seen him move.

"Oh. Yea, it is. I, ah – I'm just nervous about school."

Edward smiled and replied with a kind, "Everyone gets nervous 'bout school, don't worry Alex, I'm sure you'll do great."

With one last grin he had retreated to the hallway and shut the door behind him. It was times like these that Alex missed Jack the most. Had it had been her that had seen him with an inside out shirt, she would have known instantly that something was wrong and no matter how much crap about school Alex made up, she wouldn't have believed it for a second because she would have known that nothing as small as nervousness about school would have made him put on the shirt wrong. She would have also known that he had thrown on the shirt just as she headed towards his room.

Alex fixed his shirt and then headed down to the kitchen to get his breakfast. To tell the truth he wasn't overly concerned about school, he had gotten used to the rumours and gossip about him at Brookland that he didn't really care about what his schoolmates thought anymore. Although this was a new school, he knew that he could charm everyone if he tried; after all, he was the world's best teenage spy.

Alex nearly flinch when he thought those thoughts but he only outwardly twitched a little. Inside, he was cursing himself and MI6 in five different languages and quickly pushed his thoughts of spying and anything to do with spying away.

"Hello honey, come here and have some pancakes!"

Alex tried his best to return Liz's bright morning smile but all he managed was a small twist of the lips that he thought was more of a grimace than a smile. But apparently it was a half decent smile or maybe they just ignored it because Sabina grinned and hugged him tightly.

"Aren't you excited for today? You're gonna absolutely love our school!"

He noted how she didn't wait for his reply and that she had said 'our' school instead of 'my' school. He tried to work up a better smile but he really just felt tired of having to constantly try to please the Pleasures. He tried because he was grateful that they had taken him in and he wanted to be nice but he was just so _tired _of all this and sometimes he wished that they didn't try so hard to be so welcoming.

He said "Thank you." When Liz handed him a plate of pancakes and then he turned to Sabina and said, "So, when's the bus coming?"

The whole family seemed thrilled at his simple question and they all broke into grins. It was the first time that he had spoken without someone prompting and although Alex knew this, he didn't see how it could make them all so happy. Sabina's grin was the biggest and she replied cheerfully, "Well, unless you want to miss it then I suggest you start eating Blondie."

Alex tried for a laugh and at the sight of their grins going bigger, Alex knew he succeed and he mentally gave himself a pat on the back. While he filled his stomach with food, he also mentally prepared himself for school and teenagers - god the _teenagers_! He felt like groaning and banging his head on the table. He was not looking forward to meeting the stuck up girls and arrogant boys. He filled his mind with calmness so that he doesn't lose control and kill someone, his mind is in a... delicate state at the moment and he has to be extra careful that he doesn't lose it at some ignorant kid who thought they owned the world.

Just as he finished eating, Sabina grabbed his arm and pretty much dragged him to the door. He quickly grabbed his bag which he had packed yesterday and next to him Sabina did the same while shouting, "Bye Mum, bye Dad!" and Alex heard the faint "Have fun kids!" just as Sabina shut the front door.

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_So, what do you think? I have just finished reading Scorpia Rising a couple of days ago and then an idea for this fic struck me so I decided to try it and see if people like it. I haven't written much of this, I've only just finished this chapter and I did it in one night so it's not too good. _

_I hope you at least enjoyed it and please tell me what you think about it and whether or not I should continue. I'll mention right now that this won't be a Sabina/Alex story, not because that I don't like them together but I don't want this fic to be about their relationship but rather to be about what happens to Alex after Scorpia Rising. Alex's behaviour is from the last couple of pages of the book and so is where they live and all, this is just an intro to see if anyone's interested but if you are then maybe you can help me think of a name for their choc Labrador.  
><em>

_If you don't like parts of this or if you think there's something I need to change or improve then please point it out since I'm not that good a writer so I love it when people tell me what they think of my writing and not just the story. So please review!_

_Ally xoxo  
><em>


	2. Chapter 2

**In the Night Sky  
><strong>

**Chapter 2  
><strong>

Summary: Alex is starting his time in San Francisco with the Pleasure family, a new house, a new school and a new life. But can he go from international super spy to normal school boy?  
>He once got thrown into a world he didn't belong and now he's gotten pulled back into a world he's outgrown. Is his wish for normality what he really and truly wants?<br>Alex Rider is on his toughest mission yet where his cover is an ordinary boy and his objective is to be ultimately normal, will he succeed or will this be his biggest failure of all?  
>But the biggest question of all, is: Can he well and truly forget not only the past but also the past him; the spy that he's been and might very well still be?<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. Simple as that.

:::::::::::::::::::::

Presidio Heights High is like any other high school. There were different types of kids, different types of teachers and there was _always _different gossip about an unlucky someone. Currently, it's about a kid who had been at the school about a week ago who was apparently the son of a politician. No one knew if it was true or not, they didn't get a chance to ask before he left, but everyone made up their own tales about the boy. A year ago, it had been about a girl who turned out to be the headmaster's long lost daughter, she's gone now too. Alex had noticed a pattern that those who get gossiped about always left, he had done so himself, however, his reasons were not as simple as theirs.

Alex had enjoyed a quite bus ride where Sabina had talked to a blonde pretty girl in front of her about their weekend, Alex had noticed that Sabina had exaggerated about some things but he left her be. There had been a group of boys who were extremely loud at the back of the bus but Alex had tuned them out easily. Now though, he couldn't ignore the people trying to talk to him.

Walking through the halls, next to Sabina, was a tiring job. No one had seen him before and they were all curious, the girls especially, paid extra attention to him, some giving him lingering looks and smiling at him coyly. Sabina took in all the staring in stride and Alex, an experienced spy, had no trouble pretending to ignore them, it's the actual ignoring part that's hard. Alex wasn't comfortable with the looks but he was a spy, he can pretend easily enough, but inside, he just wanted to disappear.

Sabina was chatting excitedly next to him, calling out to the occasional person, introducing him and then talking about things that Alex had no interest in. Not that he had many interest these days but Alex liked to think of himself as knowledgeable and that he could partake in almost about any conversation. At one point he had to turn away and walk off on his own because although he was knowledgeable, it didn't mean that he particularly wanted to talk about the things he knew. Especially if it's about a girl's, ah, _thing._ And doubly so when said girl had never had it before and was asking for advice about what to do, he did not need to know the details thank-you-very-much.

So it was when Alex walked off into a quiet courtyard to give the girls some privacy that he met his first enemy at Presidio Heights. He missed having normal school bullies as his most hated enemies but he did not miss the fights he had with them. Maybe that's why when one of the boys he recognised as a boy from the back of his bus spat at him that he did not retaliate.

"What, you being a pussy and scared of getting hurt!"

Alex thought that the boy had the poorest insults on earth but before he could say anything back, he had to dodge a punch that had come at him in such a slow pace that Alex almost wanted to yawn. The boy, however, seemed to think his punch was excellent until Alex dodged it easily. He seemed to become more enraged when he saw that Alex had dodged as if his punch was nothing but weak so he full out lunged at him.

Alex saw the boy fly towards him so he took one simple step and when the boy landed with a sound 'oof', he spoke in a quiet but mocking tone.

"I don't think I've ever met someone as clumsy as you but," he paused and gave the boy a cold stare and his voice went from mocking to threatening, "if you're ever this clumsy around me, you'll find yourself regretting it."

The boy stood up and his frame shook a little, he tried to cover it up but Alex could have seen it miles away. His friends who have stayed back so all took a small step back subconsciously and some were visibly shaken too. Alex started to walk off when he remembered that Sabina had been taking him to his locker and now he had no idea where either are.

Sighing, Alex headed off in the general direction Sab had been taking him, hoping that maybe he'll find his locker by luck. Thousands of thoughts ran through his head as he slipped gracefully through the crowds in the hall but one stood out the most.

Tom. He had not let himself think of his best friend since coming here, locking himself away from everyone and everything. But the little… incident in the courtyard had reminded him of his time in London, when he had first met Tom. He forgot how he had enjoyed helping those smaller and weaker kids against the bullies and how sometimes Tom would tag along and try to be tough and fight them as well. He remembered how he would bring Tom back to his house to clean up Tom's injuries before he went back to his house.

An image of Jack tending to Tom and him after their first fight together came to his mind and instantly his whole face closed off. His face became emotionless and stone-like, his posture stiff with anger and remorse, his eyes, god his eyes, they were so cold, unseeing, like bottomless holes of darkness, and in them, there was something deadly, lethal.

Unfortunately for Alex, a girl happened to turn the corner and bump into him, dropping the stuff in her hands. It jolts him out of his trance but not before she sees his eyes, the world seems to slow as he watch her flinch and bend down to pick up whatever she dropped. He watched as her body tensed with fear and how her hands seemed to be shaking.

Alex was extremely glad that he had not subconsciously held the girl in a choke hold or something equally bad when she had bumped into him but her seeing her eyes was not that much better. He bent down to help her and it was his turn to flinch when he realised that he had caused her to drop a whole bunch of pamphlets about a psychology clinic.

"Sorry about that, I was a bit out of it there and didn't see you coming."

He spoke carefully and tried his best to sound like a normal teenager, keeping his tone nice and friendly, well, what he thought as nice and friendly.

It seemed to work since the girl smiled at him and stuck out a hand although they were both on the floor.

"It's alright. I'm Carlie."

He shook her hand and inwardly he was impressed, the girl had been frightened of him not seconds ago and here she was, shaking his hand as if she hadn't been scared out of her mind. Alex was surprised when her shake was firm, when her hand had been shaking just moments before and he was even more surprised that she didn't flinch away when he steadied her as they rose off the floor.

"Alex."

His voice was quieter and he didn't try as hard to sound normal, he took his time to examine the girl, Carlie, in front of him. She had dark brown hair that hung loose around her shoulders and skin that was paler than the average Californian, her light hazel eyes were kind and amusement sparkled in the depths of her eyes as she stated, "Finished admiring the view yet?" Her voice was teasing, playful and a growing grin brightened her face up to a whole new level.

"No, not really, I think I can do with a little more time to enjoy it." For the first time in almost forever, his voice was light and had the tiniest bit of playfulness in it. Her grin felt contagious and he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, however small it was.

"Hm, well I'm looking at something quite spectacular myself but I think I'm going to have to go. I am quite the busy person, well, if you counted meeting with the school counsellors as busy."

He nodded, understanding why she had a bunch full of psychological pamphlets in her arms. Just as he started to walk off, he remembered something.

"Hey, Carlie!"

She turned at the sound of her name and thankfully there were only a couple of people in this hallway, nobody else turned towards him and Alex was immensely grateful.

"Yeah?"

Her head tilted and she gave him a questioning look.

"I was just wondering, but do you happen to know where locker number 1042 might be?"

Carlie seemed to try to bring up memories of locker numbers and Alex watched as she squinted her eyes as if she might see it if she looked hard enough.

"Uh, I think it might be in K block, I'm not too sure since I don't pay that much attention to locker numbers but my locker's around there and I_ think_ it starts at 1020 and ends at 1080. I'm not too sure 'cause my lockers 1065 but I think it's there."

She still had that look on her face as if she was trying to think of an answer to a math question that she knew but couldn't remember how to do. He was just within range to hear her mumble, "I think you can fit 60 lockers there…"

Alex started to walk off again when he realised that he didn't know where K block was but when he turned around Carlie was gone. He thought of how ironic that his unit at the SAS was K-unit and now his locker was supposedly in K block, they weren't related in any way apart from the letter but Alex still felt as if someone punched him in the stomach every time he thought of something from his past, especially if it had something to do with his old… job.

Alex wasn't one to dwell on his past but what had happened… had cut too deep for him to move on and get past it. He thought of the pamphlets Carlie had been carrying and wondered what he would say if he ever went to a psychologist. He shivered at the thought of having to tell a stranger about his deepest and darkest secrets.

Wondering around the school, Alex realised that Presidio Heights High is very modern, there were courtyards everywhere and the classrooms all seemed to have the latest technology and most of the buildings seem to be new. He jumped as his phone vibrated in his pocket and he scolded himself for being so jumpy. He was getting out of shape both mentally and physically, he's going to lose his touch soon if he continues like this. Alex isn't so sure if it's a good or bad thing.

"Hello."

"Alex! Thank god you answered, where the hell are you? Do you know how worried I've been! You can't just walk off like that!"

Alex realised that it was Sabina who was having a screaming fit at him over the phone and he felt the tiniest bit guilty. He should have told her he was going but he had only wanted to get some fresh air and then that bully had to have a go at him, after that he had crashed into Carlie and in the end, he totally forgot about Sabina. Be as it may, he did not think that Sabina had to be so angry or worried, he could look after himself perfectly fine.

"Sorry Sabina, I was just giving you some time with your friends but I guess I must have wondered off and lost track of time."

He didn't feel like explaining the whole scene with the bullies or with Carlie to her so he left it simple and plain, free for her to interpret whatever she wanted out of it.

"Alex… look just don't go off like that again okay? I was really worried and just…" he heard a sigh and then Sabina's voice came back on, "Where are you?"

Alex looked around for a sign and next to a blob of black hair, he saw a sign saying 'H5'.

"I'm in H block, can you tell me how to get to K block? You don't have to come with me, I'll be fine on my own."

They had entered through Gate 3 and Sabina had already collected his timetable and everything for him so they had decided to check out his locker first, but they kept being interrupted by Sab's friends so they hadn't gotten very far. Alex also realised that her, no,_ their_ school was very, very big. Way bigger than Brookland and Alex wondered how they had time to get from one class to another, especially the Year 9's who wouldn't have a clue where to go.

Alex reminded himself that in America they were called '3rd Formers' not 'Year 9's'.

"Well, umm… which way are you facing?"

Alex realised that Sab probably wasn't the best at giving directions so he decided that he might as well look for it himself, he was pretty sure that he had been given a map with his timetable.

"It's alright Sab, I'll find it myself, I'll see you at morning tea."

"Oh Alex, I forgot to tell you that the different forms ate at different places, I might not see you 'till lunch but I'll make sure to go see you then 'kay?"

Sab sounded generally worried and remorseful about that fact but Alex could tell that she tried to sound happy about the seeing him at lunch and not sounding sad that she won't see him 'till then. Alex had realised a couple of days ago that all the Pleasures were trying to express things in a positive way around him and he guess that they must have read something about being positive when they're with grieving kids.

"Sure, that's alright, I'll see you then."

"Okay then, bye!"

The line went dead and Alex put his phone away while manoeuvring his bag from his back to his front. He searched for his dairy which Sabina had told him was compulsory for this school. He took out his map and looked for the letters H and K. He was saddened by the fact that no, the blocks weren't in alphabetical order, but instead, they were in Form sections so that everyone from the same Form would not have to go from one end of the school to another, meaning that he only had to find his way around a certain part of the enormous school.

Alex was s a skilful map reader but the map only showed the blocks and when he reached K block, he found that the single block was big enough to fit half of his old school in. Walking around, he finally realised that no one had been staring at him since he left Sabina's side and that he could walk the halls easily without people looking him up and down.

There were the occasional girls who would look at him and then start sending him flirtatious looks and trying to act cool. Alex mostly found this amusing and did his best to ignore them and to keep them at bay. He was extremely glad when a boy came up to him and asked him if he needed help.

Alex was sure that if someone didn't come up to him soon then the girl who's been staring at him at the end of the hallway would have probably jumped him when he reached her.

"Hey, you alright there mate? You seem a bit lost."

Alex could immediately tell that this young man in front of him was one of those easy-going types who treated everyone as a friend. The boy had light blue eyes that were friendly and gentle, his brown hair rested in a messy state and judging by his tan, he loved being outside.

"Actually, do you happen to know where the lockers are here?"

"Of course, but which one you looking for? This place has heaps."

"Uh, number 1042, I think."

His blue eyes seem to light up as he exclaimed, "Awesome! Mine's right next to yours!"

Turned out that his definition of 'right next to' is 13 lockers away. Alex had learnt on the way that the boy's name is Will but most people called him Scott, which is his last name, because he had another friend called Will and they thought Scott suited him better. Scott talked about anything and everything and Alex found it easy to converse with the cheerful boy.

"So, how come you moved from England to here?"

Alex had written down a good cover for his past and had showed the Pleasures so that everyone knew what his supposed 'past' was, but he wasn't so comfortable talking about it to someone he just met.

"My, uh, my guardian in England died in a car crash, there wasn't anyone left to look after me so our family friends, Sabina's family, took me in."

He had decided to keep in as much truth as possible so that there wouldn't be many loopholes and that they all could remember it easily.

Scott had a sympathetic look on his face but he did not seem as awkward as some people do when they find out someone they didn't know had died.

"I'm so sorry Alex."

Alex hadn't expected the easy acceptance and the hug that came his way. Not many boys hugged other boys as easily as Scott did, and most didn't hug in the sort of girly way that seemed perfectly natural on Scott. Alex wondered why Scott didn't ask about his family members and why he accepted his story without asking about why he was living with a guardian in the first place.

The ringing of the bell stopped Alex from having to say anything back and he was eternally grateful for it.

"Do you know where your homeroom is?"

"I know that it's in A15, not too sure 'bout where it is though."

Scott grinned at him and exclaimed, "Hey, my girlfriend's in that class!"

Alex didn't know whether that was a good thing or not but he did know that if they didn't hurry they would both be late.

"Great, now we really should head off to class before we're both late!"

"Hey Al, where you going? A's that way, come on, I'll show you, I'm in A too."

Alex wondered how the boy became so comfortable with coming up with a nickname for him when they'd just met, but he couldn't say much as Scott dragged him in the opposite direction and started talking about his wonderful girlfriend who Alex is going to love.

_One friend, one enemy, not so bad for my first day._

Alex nearly grinned at the thought of his second day, if he met anymore friends like Scott, he was going to be consumed by the happiness and silliness that radiated from them.

_Maybe America won't be so bad after all._

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Thank you to all those who have reviewed, I'm glad that you enjoy this story and I liked the name 'Milo' from Riley Erin for the dog but I'm open for other suggestions too. Also thank you to those who pointed out my tense changing habit, Katie62442 pointed out that I could get a Beta and I would love it if anyone would want to beta my story, however, I must warn you that I've never had a Beta before and have no idea how it works so you'll have to teach me quite a lot. I'd like to thank Witty Kitty01 for warning me to stay clear of Mary-Sues and that if anyone ever thinks that I'm starting to turn someone into a Mary-Sue, please inform me and I'll try to make it better.

I'm sorry if I got the whole form, year and homeroom thing wrong because I'm from New Zealand and I have no idea how it works in America or England so if I got things wrong, please point it out and I'll fix it. Also the whole size of school thing, I have no idea about America but if they are generally not that big, this school is just special cos I like it that way.

All in all, I'd love more reviews and comments on how I could improve and what you like and dislike.

Ally xox :)


	3. Chapter 3

**In the Night Sky  
><strong>

**Chapter 3  
><strong>

Summary: Alex is starting his time in San Francisco with the Pleasure family, a new house, a new school and a new life. But can he go from international super spy to normal school boy?  
>He once got thrown into a world he didn't belong and now he's gotten pulled back into a world he's outgrown. Is his wish for normality what he really and truly wants?<br>Alex Rider is on his toughest mission yet where his cover is an ordinary boy and his objective is to be ultimately normal, will he succeed or will this be his biggest failure of all?  
>But the biggest question of all, is: Can he well and truly forget not only the past but also the past him; the spy that he's been and might very well still be?<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. Simple as that.

:::::::::::::::::::::

His first day had been a breeze, Alex had met Scott's girlfriend, Jean, who had insisted that he call her 'Jay' because she liked it better. Jay was quite the smart girl and although Alex had been behind at Brookland, he had been put into some classes for the accelerated students. Alex had been surprised when he entered his first class and got told by Jay that he was in the extended maths class.

At first, Alex had found it hard to keep up with some of the teachers in his classes since he missed so much school, but he soon realised that he simply needed to go over some of the things he missed and he'd be able to keep up easily. Alex wasn't overconfident but he knew that he was generally smarter than most kids, maybe it was because of his old job or maybe it had been because of Ian, who had pushed him harder than any other parents.

Ian. His uncle had popped up a total of four times on his first day of school. The first had been when he entered French, his second period class, and replied automatically to the teacher's French question _"How long have you studied French?" _in perfect French. His first thought after was 'Ian would be disappointed, my accent is a little off,' and then the force of his uncle's death hit him harder than ever before.

Alex had grieved for his uncle after his death but at that moment, he had lost everything and everyone, and the reminder that his beloved uncle had died and apparently lied to him his whole life, hit him hard. To say that his French teacher had been surprised that an English boy came into his class and spoke fluent French that was near accent-less was an understatement. Mr. Cooper, his French teacher, had been astonished that a teenage boy could speak French as if he had grown up speaking the language when he clearly wasn't French.

Jay didn't take French as a subject so Alex had been left alone in that class but he had been invited by the girl, Carlie, to sit next to her. He found it amusing how she was in advanced French and yet seemed to get many things wrong, apparently she had studied French since primary school but she never could get the hang of the accent and pronunciation.

Interval hadn't been too exciting, Alex sat with Scott, Jay, Carlie and their friends. It had been interesting to learn that Scott and Carlie were family friends and that their dad's were like brothers. What Alex had found even more surprising was that Carlie was adopted but spoke of it as if it didn't bother her at all. Alex's jaw had been on the ground by the time Carlie had explained that all her brothers and sisters apart from one brother were adopted. He had finally understood why Scott had been so excepting of his explanation of Jack's death and how he hadn't questioned him further.

In general, Alex's first week wasn't a bad one, things went along as smoothly as it should for a boy who just moved to a new country and Alex was generally a lot happier by the end of the week. Spending time with his new friends caused him to remember many things he would rather forget but they were his past and he couldn't get rid of them. Ian, Jack and Tom's face were the ones he often saw when something his friends did or said reminded him of before… everything.

Sabina and her parents had been particularly happy with him. They took him out to the beaches they started relaxing more around each other. Edward and Liz Pleasure had been glad that they had made the right choice to send Alex off to school and they started to try and give Alex some space by not watching him as closely as before since he seemed to be getting better. They couldn't have been more wrong.

To Alex, the year he spent with MI6 felt too long, as if it had been his entire life. He tried to fit in at school, he really did. But somehow he just couldn't feel as if he did fit in. The kids at the school all seemed to like him since he was polite and friendly, only Matt, the school bully he had encountered and his gang didn't really like him. Some of the kids in the higher years had been jealous that he had got Sabina but when they had explained that they were more like brother and sister, they had left him alone.

Maybe it was because he hadn't had enough time to adjust, maybe it was because he was still trying to get over Jack's death, maybe it was because he had been trying too hard. But to Alex, these weren't really the problems he was encountering, but he couldn't exactly say what the problems he was encountering were… he just knew that it wasn't the time part or the trying too hard, and although Jack's death still stabbed him in the heart every time he thought of her, he knew it wasn't that. He couldn't figure everything out until the second week of school…

But by then, everything was too late.

:::::::::::::::::::::

He was half a step in the school when Jay ran towards him and nearly drove him to the ground.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Alex! Alex! Alex! Oh my god! Do you know what today is?"

Alex hardly got the word, "No." out before Jay screamed, "The S.E.A.L.s are coming to talk to us at lunch today! The navy! I mean, I've always wanted to meet a soldier but the navy! And not any navy but the S.E.A.L.s!"

And then there was the excited scream that made Alex wince and cover his ears as if they might combust if Jay didn't stop.

A hand shot out of nowhere and closed over her mouth, muting her screams. Scott's head popped out from behind her and Alex gave him a grateful smile. Scott grinned at Alex and then turned to give Jay a mock stern expression and said seriously, "Jay, be quiet before I am forced to silence you." He ruined the affect by laughing at the glare Jay sent his way that clearly said 'You're not funny, now stop being an idiot' Alex smiled at his new friends and wondered why the navy coming for a short visit would have Jay so excited.

Carlie walked up behind Scott and looked at Alex's confused face, she grinned at the weird expression Alex was making and calmly stated, "Jay wants to join the navy when she grows up." Then she turned to Jay and said in a teasing tone, "_If_ you ever grow up."

"Hey! I resent that! I may not be the most mature person on this world but that doesn't mean I can't be mature!"

Both Scott and Carlie gave her a look as if to say 'Really? You sure about that?'

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"Oh, nothing sweetie just spaced out a bit is all."

"Like what? We're not doing anything."

Alex grinned at the mock innocence behind their words and he watched as Jay scowled and stomped off towards god knows where.

Alex wondered what he got himself into when he became friends with these crazy people.

"Sorry 'bout that mate, Jay's admired the S.E.A.L.s since she was a kid and now that they're visiting, she won't shut up about it."

"Oh it's not that bad, you should have seen her that time we were in history and our teacher, Mrs. Morgan, said we were going to visit the CIA. Jay had been so excited, and then she sulked for about a month when the teacher said that the CIA won't allow it."

Carlie winced at a particular memory and Alex thought that he was probably better off not knowing what trouble Jay stirred up because of that.

Scott groaned and then added, "Yes, Jesus, that was the worst month of my life. Jay's been having these fantasies that she'll get picked to join the CIA and she always says that when people ask her what she wants to do when she gets older, she has to say 'join the Navy' because she doesn't want to blow her cover."

Alex stiffened and half his mind screamed 'NO! NO! NO!' while the other half screamed at him to relax before his new friends realise something is wrong.

Carlie's laugh helped him control his body and force himself into a relaxed posture, he was suddenly glad that both his friends weren't focusing on him.

"Yeah, I don't really think that Jay's gonna get picked, I mean, she's not the most… spy like person and I doubt she'd actually want to be a spy if she knew what they truly did. She just reads too much action books, I doubt they actually do the things the books suggest they do."

Scott grinned, it was almost his signature, he always grinned and it was always that weird overly cheerful type grin that Alex was slowly getting used to.

"Well, I definitely hope not, have you read all those books about how a girl spy seduces all these men and then sleeps with them all?"

Carlie laughed and then pointed out, "So you're saying that you read all these books about girl spies seducing hot, sexy men?" She winked at Scott and then burst out in laughter again when she saw the expression on his face.

"Scott… is there something you want to tell me?"

Alex grinned slyly at Scott and hoped that he hasn't lost his skill in acting. He was glad that Carlie laughed again to help him keep up his act and this time she fell to the ground and tears flowed down her face.

"Goddess! It's not that funny!"

Scott exclaimed while throwing up his arms and making the whole scene even more funny. Alex chuckled at the sight of his two friends but a second before it happened, he knew something was wrong.

And then a bang rang through the courtyard.

One tiny piece of metal soared through the air.

Red blossomed on Carlie's white singlet.

Red.

All he could see was red.

Screams tore through the background, the world fuzzed in and out of focus.

But the red, the red stayed.

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Thnx to all those who reviewed last time! I'd especially like to thank _Runningriver14_, thank you so much for all the help you gave me about sophomores and how they organise the schools in America, however, I might still keep the blocks thing because it's hard for me to see a school without one so I hope you can adjust to it because it'll be hard for me to write the scenes if I have no idea where it's meant to be set. But thank you soo much for the info, I'll try to remember them all for the story but it'll help if you could tell me how many periods there are in a day cos we have 5 which are one hour long and you said they had lunch at about period 5 so if it were my school, they'd have lunch after school... I'm pretty sure that's not meant to happen. Thnx again for all the help and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, many readers pointed out the tense changing thing again and I tried my best to pick out all the places I changed in this chapter but I think I still missed some so sorry if you read something and its annoying you cos the tenses keep changing, I'm trying, I really am!

Please review and tell me what you think, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even if it is a bit short. Quick question of the day: Who wants Alex to stay a spy and who wants Alex to become normal? Personally, I think he can't leave the spy world but it's always good to see what other people would like to read. So thank you again to those who reviewed and I love you all heaps!

Ally xox :)


	4. Chapter 4

**In the Night Sky  
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**Chapter 3  
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Summary: Alex is starting his time in San Francisco with the Pleasure family, a new house, a new school and a new life. But can he go from international super spy to normal school boy?  
>He once got thrown into a world he didn't belong and now he's gotten pulled back into a world he's outgrown. Is his wish for normality what he really and truly wants?<br>Alex Rider is on his toughest mission yet where his cover is an ordinary boy and his objective is to be ultimately normal, will he succeed or will this be his biggest failure of all?  
>But the biggest question of all, is: Can he well and truly forget not only the past but also the past him; the spy that he's been and might very well still be?<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. Simple as that.

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_My fault… my fault… my fault… my fau-_

The ambulance screeched to a stop and the paramedics rushed in a blur of blue and white to get Carlie into the hospital. Doctors and nurses came running to meet them and words flew out of their mouths while checking over her wound and speeding her off to emergency surgery.

Alex watched from the corner of his eyes as Scott stumbled out of the ambulance and rushed to stay with his friend, his unsteady feet threatened to trip him up but he determinedly carried on even while stumbling every few steps.

All the young Rider could do was drown himself in guilt while following behind Scott with a steadier pace. He appeared to be the calmer one out of the two boys but Alex knew that Scott was doing far better than him. His friend seemed rather calm while his best friend is on the verge of dying, at least he isn't fully panicking and screaming, Alex rather felt like doing that but his body forced him to appear calm and to blend in as much as possible.

He guessed that his body hasn't had enough time to get rid of his spy instincts that were screaming at him to blend, merge and shrink while preparing him for combat. He had no need to blend in or get ready for a fight but his body worked on a different wavelength to his mind and he guessed that this 'survival mode' just kicked in on situations like these.

Seconds, minutes or maybe hours had passed before a man and woman came rushing into the waiting area and choking Scott with a crushing hug. Alex watched on as the woman sobbed and the man attempted to sooth her. He could see the worry written clearly on all their faces and another wave of guilt hit him in the chest.

"Oh my baby!-Oh why-"

Listening to the woman sob, Alex felt a sudden need to get away. The room was suffocating him and all of a sudden he felt dizzy, his attempt to stand up failed miserably and he stumbled and nearly fell before taking a seat again.

Then before he could go anywhere, a mob of what he assumed as Carlie's family came rushing in, heading directly towards him. But it wasn't the age difference between the kids, the skin color or the bright green hair that stopped him in his tracks. It was a man at the back of the mob, with short black hair and crystal blue eyes.

Alex told himself to breath and he tried to figure out if he was hallucinating or if he's actually seeing Ben Daniels rushing to greet Carlie's parents. He tried to order his thoughts but his brain seemed to be failing him and all he can think about is _Ben, Fox, no, Ben…. What the hell's he doing here? Oh God… Oh God… MI6… all my fault… no… no,no,no,no,NO!_

Be as it may, Alex didn't go into full panic mode because spies don't do full panic and also because the familiar white hair, sharp face and intelligent eyes belonging to the person who're walking through those doors he's becoming to hate, happen to belong to a certain Director of the CIA.

Numbness washed off his body as he watched Joe Byrne scan the room and when their eyes met, he wasn't sure who had the most shock appear on their face. Of course, a normal person wouldn't see a thing and it'll only be the normal worry that they could detect from two normal men waiting for family or friends, but the small movements of their face and the faint look in their eyes that didn't belong to average worried men gave the two spies away to each other.

All of a sudden Alex found it hard to breathe as the man he had hoped he'd never have to see again strode towards him. It wasn't anything personal but he had wished that he'd never ever see anyone from the spy business again in his future life no matter if he had liked them or not.

Now he knew why Ian thought birthday wishes were pointless, in this world of life and death, wishes never eased the suffering and pain.

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It was a little hazy as to who finally decided to go for a walk outside the hospital but somehow Alex found himself wondering the grounds of the hospital with Joe Byrne. The man's calm posture and steady hands did nothing to betray his fear at meeting the teenage spy again but when he called the boy by his last name, Alex knew something was going on. Something big and unpleasant.

"Rider."

"Byrne."

Alex followed the Director of CIA and took a seat beside him under a big willow tree. He wasn't sure what Byrne was going to tell him but he knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Alex… I'm sorry but you must know how hard it is for me to do this, I know you have… left MI6 recently and that you probably don't want to join any organizations like them again."

"No I don't."

"I really am sorry Alex that your friend got shot in your school grounds but you must see that although it had nothing to do with you to begin with, it has everything to do with you now."

"You know what Byrne; let's skip this riddle guessing game and get to the point, whatever you have to say, just say it."

Alex's tone wasn't very welcoming but the director knew that it was better to be straightforward with the boy than to keep secrets from him. He had a feeling those who kept things from Alex Rider ended up regretting it.

"You must have realized that the girl's, Carlie's, family is mostly made up of adopted children. Her parents are both psychiatrists and they have some links with the CIA when we give them some clients who've been on less… classified missions."

Alex wondered if the director always paused to choose what he was going to say or if it was just today since he didn't expect to see Alex and hadn't written the whole conversation out beforehand. Alex was sure that was exactly what the head of intelligence departments did; at least, he was sure that was what Blunt did. The asshole always played him into a corner and knew exactly what Alex was going to reply.

"But her parents aren't really important at this stage, you see Alex, Carlie's brother works for us. He is a very good hacker and you could say that he might even be the best in the world. Last month, Kevin hacked into a new organization's database, although this organization is new, it is strong and getting stronger every second of the day."

"Yes I see how this will be a problem for Kevin if they found out it was him and I'm guessing they did since they shot his sister at school. Now what _I_ want to know is what you meant when you said 'it has everything to do with _me_ now'."

At this Byrne looked uncomfortable again and Alex could see the slight movements of his body that betrayed his fear and dread at what he must say next.

"Alex… I'm not sure how to break this to you the easy way and I have a feeling that you won't take this well no matter what happens but the leader of this organization, he is quite well known and I believe that you might have met him a few times on your missions."

"Don't tell me, Yassen Gergorovich is the leader of this 'new organization'."

Alex smirked at the idea of the assassin leading a group of newbies and teaching them with patience. He then continued to snort at the image of Yassen teaching little babies to talk. _Sure,_Alex thought, _but for some reason I can also see him killing all the annoying rookies who irritate him. Yeah, that's way more likely than him teaching with patience._

"How… I was told you did not know of his survival from Air Force One."

"What – Yassen's actually the leader? Well, this is new. Maybe he got tired of being a retired assassin."

This time Byrne didn't even try to hide his surprise, he simply sat there gaping like a fish and wondering when the young spy had seen and talked to the assumed dead assassin.

"You've talked to him since his death?"

"Technically, he didn't die. But yes, I have. At the time he had told me he had retired but he never did end up telling me what he was doing since his retirement. Guess I should have asked more specifically."

The comment came with an easy shrug of the shoulders and a relaxed grin that promised revenge for the next time he saw the assassin. Somehow Byrne didn't think the revenge will involve any killing or violence, the smile on the young man's face was more like the one's stupid teenagers wore before pulling a prank on their favorite uncle.

Byrne didn't know whether Alex Rider had this effect on everyone but it seemed that the boy was always surprising him. Next thing he'll know, Alex will be sprouting wings and whispering about how the pink fairy got with the blue fairy and how they're now having purple fairies.

"Well, I had expected that Gergorovich would have wanted to extract revenge or hunt you down or something like that but since you seem to be, uh, on good terms, Carlie's shooting shouldn't affect your life here too much."

Alex felt uneasy about how Byrne talked about his friend's shooting as if it wouldn't bother him as long as it didn't cause him any trouble. Sometimes Alex wondered if all intelligence people were emotionless bastards like Blunt or if Byrne was different, somehow he didn't think so.

It was when Alex was heading home from the hospital that he realized that he had been more outspoken and like himself with Byrne than with his new family and friends, but what scared him most was that there was only one reason he could think of that made him feel more comfortable around the Director of the CIA than his friends and it was that they had more things in common.

Alex didn't like having more things in common with a CIA agent than normal kids his age but somehow, somewhere along the line, he had become more of a spy than a teenage boy. And it took the death of his guardian, the shooting of his friend and a visit from the Director for him to realize this simple yet ever so complicated fact.

When he finally did realize, Alex Rider saw only one way to escape the government, the teenagers and his new family that felt more like strangers than friends. His escape plan: find Yassen Gergorovich, tell him that he is a lying asshole, punch him in the face for shooting or organizing the shooting of his friend, ask to join whatever his new organization is and lastly, see if the other side of the law is any better than the previous.

It never occurred to Alex to ask about why Ben Daniels was hanging out with Carlie's family, so when he went to check up on her before his departure he never expected a MI6 agent to be sleeping in a chair and then waking up to find him reading her medical chart. If Carlie hadn't been unconscious, she would have heard a loud banging noise, some swear words and a small weary laugh.

Well… no one could say that Alex Rider didn't go out with a bang.

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_First, I'd like to thank Running River for being my beta and fixing all my spelling mistakes and grammar! She did a fabulous job and I can't thank her enough. Next I'd like to apologize for not updating for sooo long, I've been busy with school and exams so I haven't had much time to write but hopefully the next chapter will come faster than this one. Please remember to review and tell me what you think of the direction I'm heading towards._

_Thanks for reading!_

_Ally_


	5. Chapter 5

**In the Night Sky**

**Chapter 5**

Ben Daniels stared at the spilt tray of medical equipment that he had knocked over in his surprise at seeing the former MI6 agent. He slowly dragged his eyes up to face the boy reluctantly but just as he opened his mouth to say something, a fist flew towards him and his head snapped back, pulling him into unconsciousness.

Alex Rider watched his former partner in saving the world fall to the ground. To say Alex hated surprises would be an understatement. One would think spies liked surprises since they had to deal with them all the time but really Alex hated them with a passion that words cannot describe, even though he was really good at dealing with them.

Looking at the still form of Ben, Alex decided that he needed to refresh his memory on how to deal with surprises. One: Act as if you are totally unsurprised and as if the surprise occurred on a daily basis. Two: Do NOT punch the surprise in the face, you'll have a hell of a time explaining to the nurses in the hospital why your 'friend' suddenly fell unconscious and how they got a black eye in the process of falling unconscious. Three: NEVER blame the black eye on the patient in the hospital bed, also unconscious and without bruised knuckles. Luckily, Alex never blamed Ben's sudden unconsciousness on Carlie and instead dragged the man back into his seat and walked out of the hospital as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The reassuring weight of the SIG P226 that he had pulled out of Ben's MI6 issued holster rested comfortably at the back of his waistband. In his casual T-shirt, dark denim jeans and black jacket that fitted on him loosely, he resembled a young man and could pass for being 18. His serious brown eyes helped him appear older and Alex prepared himself to face the darker side of spying: joining a new, unknown and possibly unstable criminal organization. He really knew how to choose them.

The former spy made plans in his head on how to reach Yassen Gregorovich. First he needed to know where the ex-assassin had gone off to when he had supposedly 'retired'. Next he'd need a way to get out of the country to where the assassin can be found. After that he'd probably need to get a way to talk to the assassin without being killed beforehand. Lastly, he'd talk, scream and demand the assassin to give him a place in his organization. He should also punch the assassin a little, kick him in the balls hard and not hug him. He's meant to be expressing his displeasure in being lied to and hugging did not convey a message of 'I hate it when you lie to me, I hated it so much that I'll start a fight with the world's best assassin because that's how much I hate it'.

For stage one of his plan to work, he'd need to get into an CIA headquarters or hack into their system from another place with the right technology, that is, if the CIA's security was that slack. Weighing his options and deciding he didn't like either of them, Alex decided he shall just make a call and get the info himself.

"Welcome to the Royal and General Bank, how may I help you today?"

"I'd like to speak to Tulip Jones please."

"Who? I'm afraid we do not have a worker called Tulip Jones in our company, perha-"

"Yes, yes. Tulip Jones doesn't exist, she's not real, and I'm hallucinating. Whatever just get me on the line to Tulip Jones right now, and if you're really that dumb, Jones is the lady with the peppermints."

"Really sir I must insist, there is n-"

"Oh bloody hell! I called a number that is different to the ones that connect you to the actual bank and you would think I'd know about the agency and all if I'm calling this number, how dumb can you get? Just tell this non-existent Jones that an A. Rider would like to speak with her and when the non-existent lady says 'Yes put him on the line please.' I can promptly say you are a useless receptionist at such an 'important' company."

"If you'll please hold sir, I shall check again to see if I can find a Jones."

"You do that."

Alex tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the stupid guy to get him Jones. If it had been Ruth, who had been the receptionist before whoever the hell this guy was, then she would have connected him instantly.

"Alex?"

"No it's Arthur Rider, King Arthur."

"Alex King Arthur's last name was Pendragon."

"Yes I know that, I was just kidding. Christ, you need to relax woman, have some fun once in a while."

"Alex did you call to kid around and tell me to have fun or did you actually need something?"

Alex couldn't tell if Jones was actually displeased at hearing from him or if she just uses that emotionless tone whenever she talks on the phone, not that she sounds much different in real life but body language can help you understand what a person is saying more than the words itself.

"Oh yeah, that, I need the current address of Yassen Gregorovich."

"Who?"

"Oh for god's sake! Why is everyone asking me 'WHO?' as if they didn't know perfectly well what I'm talking 'bout!"

"I see you are fitting in with boys your age nicely, I'm glad."

"Jones I am not-" Alex paused and then said "Did you just joke with me?"

"I was once a field agent Alex I do know about human behaviour and how to act normal. Now I'm afraid I don't know where they buried Gregorovich, why do you need to know?"

Sometimes he wondered if Jones liked having long conversations with him because she got bored or if she felt the need to 'spy talk' to him because she thought it'll be good practise.

"Now come on Jones, you and I both know that Yassen isn't dead, and if he were then you would definitely know where he was buried."

"Alex may I ask why you are looking for a dead assassin."

"I want to join the dead assassin."

"You want to kill yourself? Alex I'm not sure that's a very good idea."

"I see this job is good for you, you're getting a sense of humour."

Alex grinned and he was generally happy that the stress of the job was making Jones act more like a normal person (though it was probably considered abnormal for her to act normal) and not turning her into an emotionless bastard like Blunt.

"How else would you like to join the dead assassin?"

"By not killing myself but possibly killing him. Would that make him a dead-dead assassin?"

He heard her sigh and he almost smelt the peppermint from her breath and realised he really did need to find something to do with his life before he went insane. Well, more insane that normal. Perhaps blowing up a building will help.

"Alex I'm not giving you his address just so that you can find him and join him in world destruction."

"You think so highly of me, I'm just thinking of country destruction right now."

…

"I'm kidding Jones, I wouldn't actually do anything that would kill the world, it'll ruin my good work on keeping it alive. Excellent work if I may say so myself."

"Don't you think you should stay where you are right now? Living with the Pleasures seems to have done you good and you're almost like yourself again."

Jones sounded tentative, if the head of Britain's intelligence service could ever sound tentative. Alex wondered if she was like this with everyone now or was her soft spot for him getting softer as he's gone away.

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Sitting in her office chair Tulip Jones, the new head of MI6, contemplated whether or not she should give the young ex-spy what he wanted. Although MI6 did not know the exact whereabouts of the Russian assassin, she knew roughly where he could be located.

She had already sent in a couple of spies to see if they can be recruited into the new organization that the assassin had started but she knew next to nothing about them. She didn't even know the name of the organization, apparently they wanted to live in the shadows for now and either didn't think the outside world needed to know about them or they weren't strong enough yet to have people come looking for trouble and testing their strength.

It would be good if Alex got in but she had decided after taking over for Blunt that she would never use Alex again, the spies she'd sent haven't yet reported in. One of them has already missed a check point and the other two's check points where in two more days. She hoped they weren't killed once Gregorovich realised they were spies, she'd always known that the Russian was smarter than most leaders of powerful organizations; she just hoped that his security wouldn't be as tight since he just started this new group.

"Jones the Pleasures have been good to me, but… I don't think they're good _for_ me."

She heard Alex sigh and realised that he must be really tired, Alex hardly ever let people know he was vulnerable. Then again, he could be playing her by giving off a hopeless-lost-little-boy aura so that she would help him.

"Living with them has helped me get myself together, the school is great too and I've made friends but the more I spend time with them the more I realise I can't ever be like them again. People my age walk into a room and openly search for their friends, I walk into a room and search for possible exits and hiding places without trying to look like I'm doing it. My friends have dreams of becoming a spy thinking it'll be great fun while I've already been a spy and realise it's not about fun at all. My friends will help a stranger when they ask for directions but I'll act friendly while actually analysing them and trying to determine if they're a threat and how many possible weapons they might be carrying."

Jones listened and wondered when the young boy who jumped out a sixteen story window to satisfy his own curiosity had grown into a spectacular spy that knew how to play the spy game better than those who've been in the underground world for years.

She knew that Alex had the skills, the ability to become the best there is, and not just the best spy, but the best of everything in the world of lies and deception. She knew that he could plan better than most masterminds trying to take over the world, she knew that he could lie and act better than her best spies and she knew that if he was pushed hard enough, he could kill as easily as breathing.

Jones had seen the fourteen years old school boy grow into an international spy by the age of fifteen, she knew that he was probably the best spy the world could offer and that if he joined Gregorovich, he'd become the best spy, assassin and thief the world has ever seen. He might even one day start his own organization and end up ruling the criminal world and eventually the whole universe if he chose to do so.

Two years ago, when Jones first met Alex Rider, she would have said, and truly believed, that the young boy could never grow up to kill in cold blood, that he would never sacrifice the innocent to achieve something better and that he would never turn on the good of the world to join the bad. Now, she knows that MI6 took in a school boy and turned him into something lethal, something that might one day end up killing them all and she didn't know what to do.

She knew that if she refused to help Alex, he'd just go somewhere else to get the information he needed. Jones knew that the young spy was resourceful, it might take longer for him to find Gregorovich than if she simply told him but she knew he'd find him in the end.

As the head of British Intelligence she has to consider the option of bringing Alex in. It would not be an easy task and there was a big chance of failure, but she needed to protect her country and Alex Rider joining a criminal organization may just be the world's downfall. Unintentionally, Jones had formed a type of love for the boy over the years, she did not want to capture him and it may be good for her and the agency to stay on his good side.

However hard the decision is, she knew that she could not sit on the fence and decide to not help him or hinder him. Jones was a smart woman and she knew that Alex would probably break all ties with her if she chose to do nothing. If she tried to stop him, he may admire her for trying to do the right thing but she would go on his long list of enemies. If she helped him, he'd be grateful and she'd stay in his good graces for another day.

Jones knew that eventually, Alex was going to hate her for something or rather. He already had bad feelings about her from when Blunt was head and she had helped him force the young boy to lie and kill. She knew that one day, Alex Rider was going to come after her for something that she will chose to do. Her job was to do what was best for her country and she had no doubt that somehow, somewhere Alex was going to get in the way of that.

"Alex, I would like to help you but you must know that I cannot just hand you the country's secrets now that you are not part of MI6."

She heard a pause on the other side and wondered if the young spy was going to hang up on her.

"Is this you trying to get me to join MI6 again?"

The surprise was evident in her voice as she replied, "What? No, no of course not. I'm just saying that I cannot simply hand out our country's secrets to whoever asks for it, even if we do have a good relationship."

"Jones, I'm not asking you to tell me Britain's secrets, I'm simply asking for Gregorovich's secrets. Unless of course, Yassen has decided to become a faithful British citizen and a patriot."

Jones smiled at the picture of Yassen being a patriot of Britain and made a decision that she knew she was going to regret some day.

"There is nothing simple about what you're asking for Alex, but I will help you. Gregorovich is currently residing somewhere around Australia, as to where exactly, I do not know."

"Australia? But that's down in the southern hemisphere, he couldn't be thinking of building a base for his organization down there could he?"

She smiled once again but this time at familiarity of Alex's curiosity. She could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out why the assassin was currently residing in the Southern Pacific Ocean.

"Why should he not build a base in the southern hemisphere?"

Jones also had a curious nature and she wondered why Alex thought that Gregorovich should not reside there.

"Well, it'll take a long time for him to fly from his base to anywhere important in the world. SCORPIA's base had been in Venice and that had been in Europe, where underground activity was common and they had fast access to other organizations. If Yassen set up his base in Australia, it would take hours for him to travel to meet almost anyone in the underground world since hardly any of them permanently stay in Australia. In fact I'm pretty sure that hardly any of them even visit Australia."

The head of MI6 had to agree with the young Rider on that line of reasoning, she did not know why the assassin had chosen that particular region to settle down in and she knew that underground activity was not common there. It would be hard for him to obtain any large amount of weaponry without smuggling them in from overseas, she also knew that it would be quite hard to smuggle things in to Australia or its neighbours compared to some places in Europe and America.

"I do not know why Alex and you should keep in mind that he could have chosen an island around Australia or a country near there; I'm not too sure about his exact whereabouts."

She was hesitant to tell him about the spies she had sent in but she desperately needed to know if they were successful and it would be a warning to Alex, that her spies haven't reported in, for him to be extra careful.

"Alex, I hope you will not tell anyone of what I am about to tell you, even if you do decide to join Yassen."

"I will take it to my grave, you can trust me Jones."

"I've sent three spies in to try and penetrate Gregorovich's organization; one has failed to report in on his checkpoint five days ago and failed to report in on his backup date two days ago. The other two have failed to make any communication with their handlers and I fear that they may all be dead or captured. Alex… be careful out there, what you did for us was hard on any spy but there are still more evils in this world that you have yet to see."

This time the pause somehow communicated that Alex had understood what she meant, that he would take it to heart and be cautious as he re-entered the world of grey.

"I will, thank you Jones. I know that I have no right to ask you for anything more but… I saw Ben Daniels in hospital today, he was visiting my friend Carly. Do you know why he was here?"

"I would help you if I could Alex but I do not handle all the agents myself, Ben has a handler who he keeps contact with, as his last important mission was the one with you, I have not personally given him a mission or contacted with him since then. However I do know that he has family in America even though he spent most of his childhood in England, perhaps she is related to him?"

She could hear the suspicion in his voice as he replied, "Yes, perhaps she is."

The sound of wheels screeching on concrete blasted into her ears and she opened her mouth to say one last thing before saying goodbye but Alex's voice overrode her.

"I guess this is goodbye Jones, you take care of yourself too and keep England safe. I'll just go and see what trouble your little agents have gotten up to. It was nice listening to you again."

And with that he promptly hung up on her. Jones admitted that it was good to hear his weird sense of humour again and his sarcastic side was no more suppressed after all he's been through. She had formed a bond with the boy and at that moment, she was glad she chose to help him.

* * *

><p>Hi guys, sorry for not updating for so long :L Some of you may notice that I've changed my pen name to xwerewolfgirlx, this is so that it matches my pen name on fictionpress :) I apologise for any mistakes in this chapter and all mistakes are my own, I lost contact with my beta and it seems as if she has fallen off the face of the earth (I dearly hope this is not true) and any mistake or boringness in this chapter would be my fault : sorry. Don't forget, reviews are love! :)


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